OSM's "Record of Decision" is the final stage of
the permitting process for the proposed "Black Mesa
Project," which would grant Peabody Coal Company a
life-of-mine permit for the "Black Mesa Complex"
in northern Arizona. Tribal citizens protest the expanding
mining operations of Peabody Coal Company.
Black
Mesa Water Coalition, a Navajo and Hopi citizens
organization working on indigenous sovereignty and
environmental protection, has vowed to stop Peabody from
causing further harm to Black Mesa. "We are looking
into our options for how to stop this process from moving
forward, including legal action. The permitting process
was flawed and clearly rushed through before President
Bush leaves office," said Enei Begaye, Co-Director of
Black Mesa Water Coalition.
Wahleah
Johns, Co-Director of Black Mesa Water Coalition said,
"This decision will uproot the sacred connection that
we have to land, water, and all living things on Black
Mesa. Black Mesa is a female mountain, sacred to the
Navajo people, and has been brutally scarred from over 30
years of coal mining activity and the resulting loss of 60
percent of our only source of drinking water. Our
ancestors fought hard to retain our homelands, but even
now in 2008 we are up against the same battle to protect
our homelands. The abuse to mother earth needs to
stop."
This
announcement is consistent with the Bush Administration's
history of releasing controversial decisions on Friday
evenings and before holidays. Samantha Honani, a Hopi Tewa
tribal member, said, "This is the worst kind of
Christmas present. The Hopi Tewa people will not be in
holiday bliss this Christmas but in deep thought and
contemplation of where we are as a tribe and people
without a Tribal Leader given this devastating Record of
Decision."
A
few weeks ago, a delegation of 40 Navajo and Hopi tribal
members, including Hopi Tribal Chairman Ben Nuvamsa, met
with the U.S. Office of Surface Mining at their Denver
headquarters in hopes of delaying OSM's decision. For
three hours the Navajo and Hopi representatives met with
OSM officials and presented documents and petitions
ratified by their communities that urge OSM to suspend
their decision. Their unified statement read,
"Although we represent two different tribes, we come
today united to protect our shared land and water. Water
is the life source to both our peoples, and Peabody has
failed to understand this connection. If the Office of
Surface Mining grants a permit to Peabody, our way of life
and spiritual balance will be severely disrupted and
altered. Currently, we are already suffering the damage
this industry has caused over the past 30 years. We
believe OSM has been negligent in fulfilling the NEPA
process, and if OSM issues a "Record of
Decision" that would be a breach of the Federal Trust
Responsibility. United we ask the Office of Surface Mining
to stop the "Record of Decision" process."
This
decision comes in the midst of Hopi political turmoil.
Chairman Nuvamsa came to represent the Hopi and Tewa
people in the battle to protect the water and lands from
further coal mining in Black Mesa, AZ. "Due to lack
of representation on the Hopi Tribal Council, the Village
of Tewa was never afforded the opportunity to participate
in any discussion of the Draft EIS as it applies to Hopi
people and land," stated Chairman Nuvamsa.
Navajo
and Hopi citizen's were given 45 days to comment on a
revised "Black Mesa Project" Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) and were never offered a public
commenting period. Requests for commenting period
extensions were denied by OSM as well as requests for OSM
to come to Navajo and Hopi lands for question and answer
meetings.
Two
months ago, Arizona Congressman Raśl M. Grijalva wrote to
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to suspend
further consideration of Peabody's permit. "At
present, OSM is rushing to approve a life-of-mine permit,
first without making the permit revisions sufficiently
available for public review, and then without adequate
environmental review...Mining at Black Mesa has caused
springs on Hopi lands to dry up and jeopardized the sole
source of drinking water for many Hopis and Navajos. The
Secretary, as the trustee for Native American tribes, must
ensure that mining is done responsibly on tribal lands and
that tribes actually want mining to occur. This project
does not meet that test."
Black
Mesa Navajo and Hopi residents are concerned about how
this decision will impact the future of their homelands
given the history of Peabody's unwise use of the Navajo
Aquifer. "For decades coal and water from our lands
have been taken to power Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Yet,
we have have suffered the loss of our sole source drinking
water to accommodate the over consumption of these
areas," says Wahleah Johns, Co-Director of Black Mesa
Water Coalition.
Black
Mesa is the ancestral homelands to thousands of Navajo and
Hopi families and is regarded as a sacred mountain to the
Navajo people and plays an integral role in the cultural
survival for the future generations of both the Navajo and
Hopi people.
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